


dreams that glitter

by fade_like_starlight



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Breakfast Club, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Harry Potter - Freeform, Tumblr Fic, one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-22
Updated: 2013-03-12
Packaged: 2017-12-03 06:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 7,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/694970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fade_like_starlight/pseuds/fade_like_starlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>random one-shots and drabbles, some posted on Tumblr and some brand new.</p><p>Will probably end up mostly Steve/Darcy, but there's a bit of gen-fic and Steve/others in here too.</p><p>chapter 14: Reality TV - they all have their favourite shows</p><p>chapter 15: Stalking - Clint is teaching Steve surveillance. Natasha calls it stalking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Galaga

**Author's Note:**

> title is from Call The Shots, by Girls Aloud (same as my username:  
> ( _I've seen life burn bright, seen it shimmer,_  
>  _they fade like starlight to a glimmer_  
>  _I've seen life flow by, like a river,_  
>  _so full of twilight, dreams that glitter)_.

Darcy Lewis whistled quietly. ‘So, is this what you had in mind when they said “giant flying aircraft hangar?”’

 ‘Not really,’ Pepper Potts said, walking beside her assistant, and surrounded by anonymous SHIELD agents. ‘It’s… bigger than I thought.’

 ‘That’s what she said,’ a agent said very, very quietly behind them. Darcy swallowed her laugh, almost certain it was Hawkeye and not wanting to give him the satisfaction of making her lose her composure. Beside her, Pepper’s eye twitched, a sure sign she, too, had heard Hawkeye. 

‘Ms. Potts, Ms Lewis,’ Director Fury greeted them as they stepped into the main deck of the Helicarrier. He was looking away from them, but Darcy figured he knew every single thing that happened on this ship, so she wasn’t too freaked. ‘Welcome to SHIELD.’

He turned and came over to them, nodding at Agent Hill, who took over the control of the deck.

 ‘Thank you, Director,’ Pepper said, all business again.

 ‘You are the first non-accredited civilians to be allowed access to my boat,’ Director Fury said, one eye placed firmly on Darcy.

 ‘Jane’s here,’ she said. If Coulson couldn’t rattle her, she doubted Fury could.

 ‘Doctor Foster is a recognised scientist who is now an official SHIELD consultant,’ Fury replied. ‘Same as Doctor Banner and Mister Stark,’ he continued, anticipating her next remark. ‘For your own safety, ladies, please stick to the main deck, the labs and the guest quarters. And yes, Ms Lewis, I do know everything that happens on this ship. _Everything_. Do not give me cause to rescind your invitation.’ 

Darcy kept her eyes on him and pointed off to the side. ‘That agent is playing Galaga.’

 Fury blinked - _is it a wink if it’s only one eye?_ \- and beside her, Pepper gave a tiny, tiny sigh.

 ‘Only one other person has ever noticed that,’ Fury said. Was that a smile? Darcy was going to take that as a smile, and a win for her. ‘Agent Barton, please show Ms Potts and Ms Lewis to their quarters.’

 ‘I really only noticed because that agent is kind of hot,’ Darcy whispered to Pepper as they followed Clint out of the room. 

‘Don’t worry,’ Pepper replied. ‘That’s probably the only reason Tony noticed, as well.’


	2. Chorus Girl

Darcy’s great-grandmother was a chorus girl with the USO during the war. She danced with Steve, and watched him punch Hitler, and played cards with him on the tour bus. She also posed for him. When Darcy was 16, her Nan gave her a framed copy of the drawing, a cartoonish pin up that is unmistakably Cecilia Lewis. Darcy has learnt to see herself in the drawing, too, dark eyes and long curls and curves out to here. 

When she meets Steve Rogers, she immediately calls her Nan. Later, she tells him ‘My nan says you owe her a helmet.’ Steve grins and starts telling her stories. Cecilia has already told her most of them, and with far filthier language, but Darcy laughs in all the right places anyway. 

Much, much later, after shared drinks and pizzas and giant snake attacks and many, many movie nights, Darcy finally finds the courage to show him the drawing. Steve peers at it, squinting as if he remembers drawing every single stroke.

 ‘She was sending it overseas to her fella,’ he says. ‘Your grandfather?’

 ‘Great-grandfather,’ Darcy says. ‘Cecilia is my great-grandmother on my father’s side.’

 He nods and traces his finger over the hair he drew all those years ago.

 ‘Steve, would you draw me like that?’ Darcy asks quietly. Nervously.

 He looks at her - her hair is twisted up in a messy bun, held in place with a pencil, and she’s wearing a long t-shirt that hangs off one shoulder, black leggings and a pair of fake-fur boots.

 ‘No,’ he says. ‘I’ll paint you properly, like you deserve.’


	3. Dangerous Occupation (talking to a girl)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more Girls Aloud - this title is from Graffiti My Soul.

The waitress places the bill folder in front of Steve with a shy smile. ‘Take your time,’ she says, ‘we’ve just re-opened and it looks like it’s going to be a quiet day.’

‘Quiet day, I wish,’ Clint mutters as she leaves. Steve drains his coffee and grins. The last time he’d been here was a week ago in a different world. The skyscrapers had gleamed, the streets filled with cars and people, and he’d been alone in every sense of the word. Now, the waitresses are still sweeping rubble from under the tables, and Stark Tower above is covered in scaffolding, but the sun glints off Natasha’s hair as she breaks open a muffin and Steve isn’t alone.

He opens the bill folder, mentally preparing himself for an amount in dollars, not cents, but stops short seeing the note inside.

‘Dude, I thought we explained inflation,’ Clint says. ‘Stuff costs more now, but SHIELD pays more, so it all works out.’

‘Is that the technical explanation, Agent?’ Natasha says, and Clint grins back.

Steve frowns, places the note in front of them.

_I know who you are. I saw you, that day. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. You saved my life, in the bank. Thank you._

‘No bill,’ Clint says. ‘Awesome. Free food.’

Natasha punches his shoulder. ‘Stop thinking about your stomach. That’s sweet, Steve.’ She looks up at the waitress, who is behind the counter, studiously not looking at them. ‘She’s cute. You should go say hi.’

‘Hi?’ Steve asks. ‘I don’t - ‘

‘Yes, ‘hi.’ Go talk to to the girl. See if she’d like to have lunch with you.’

‘Like - like a date?’ Steve has saved the world (twice, now), and he lives with Tony Stark, billionaire genius playboy philanthropist, and he’s sitting with two of the best spies and undercover agents in the business, but the idea of asking a girl on a date throws him back 80 years to the shy skinny kid he used to be.

‘Now he gets it,’ Clint says, stealing some of Natasha’s muffin. She slaps his hand without looking, but lets him have the food.

‘But, how?’ Steve asks quietly, looking at his plate. ‘I’ve barely even spoken to a girl since I woke, and even before then...’

‘You speak to me all the time,’ Natasha points out.

‘But you’re on my team,’ Steve says.

‘So what?’ Clint asks. ‘That girl looks like she wants on the Captain America team, too, if you know what I mean.’ Steve sneaks a glance at the girl while Natasha punches Clint again. She is looking back and gives him a small smile. She really is very pretty. A voice calls from the kitchen and she dips her head, looks back at him, then turns and leaves for the kitchen.

‘It’s different,’ Steve says. “I wouldn’t even know how to date a girl.’

‘If you forget that Barton’s here - and let’s face it, most of the time we try to do just that - ‘

‘Hey,’ Clint interjects. 

‘ - this is exactly what you do with a girl on a date. Sit in the sunshine, share a coffee and some cake, and talk. If you like her, you make plans to see her again.’

‘And, uh, at the end?’

Natasha slaps a hand over Clint’s mouth. ‘You give her a goodbye kiss and tell her you had a lovely time.’

‘Uh,’ Steve starts tearing Natasha’s discarded sugar packet into tiny squares. Natasha leans over, her hand still covering Clint’s mouth, and uses the other to lift Steve’s chin. She kisses him, quickly and sweetly, and says ‘I had a lovely time.’

She gets up and grabs Clint by the wrist. ‘Come on, I suddenly feel like hitting you really hard. Training time.’

Clint grins at Steve and follows Natasha. ‘Just be yourself, Cap, she’ll be falling at your feet in no time.’

Steve sits for another minute before grabbing the bill folder and his wallet and heading to the counter. ‘You forgot the bill,’ he says to the waitress. ‘How much do I owe you?’

‘Oh, no,’ she says, blushing. ‘It’s on the house.’

‘In that case,’ Steve says, pushing down his doubt, ‘let me repay you. Would you like to have lunch? With me?’

‘Yes,’ she says, smiling at him. ‘I’d love to. My name’s Beth, Captain.’

He smiles back. ‘I’m Steve.’


	4. Breakfast Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on [this gifset](http://fade-like-starlight.tumblr.com/post/41512742052/boombangbing-alykat-kartoons-i-want) from tumblr.

‘Hey, Darcy? Can I ask you something?’ Steve was sitting on the couch, holding his StarkTablet in front of him, earphones dangling.

‘Of course,’ she said, topping off her juice and heading over to sit next to him. She caught a glimpse of the screen. ‘Hey, Breakfast Club! I love that movie!’

‘Yeah, Pepper suggested it,’ he said. ‘It’s very good.’

‘So what did you want to know? Cause I’m not telling you how it ends, but come back to me if you want to do a singalong to the credits, I’m totally your girl.’

‘No, I was just wondering - it’s a little weird. Is it normal to start imagining your friends as movie characters?’

Darcy grinned. ‘Tony’s totally the princess, isn’t he?’

Steve grinned back, almost in relief. ‘Absolutely. I don’t even need to justify that one.’

‘So who else have you got?’

‘Bruce is the brain,’ he said. ‘You know, he’s always pushing himself to do better, to learn more, to perfect an idea. Thor is the athlete, of course, but I get the feeling they are both trying to prove something to themselves, as well as their fathers.’

Darcy nodded in agreement.

‘Clint and Natasha,’ Steve said, ‘I can’t decide. They both fit the last two characters. I think Clint sometimes loses sight of himself and gets lost in other people’s expectations. That makes him the basketcase.’

‘We won’t be giving him a makeover, though,’ Darcy mused.

Steve laughed. ‘No, actually, I liked her more before.’

‘Most people do. So does that make Natasha the criminal?’

‘Kind of. Natasha’s the opposite to Clint - sometimes she tries to project how little she cares what other people think that she completely cuts herself off. Also, and don’t tell her I said this, she’s a little reckless.’

Darcy laughed. ‘My lips are sealed. But who does that make you? Not the principal!’

‘I hope not,’ Steve said, horrified. 

Darcy laughed again. ‘Nah, I wouldn’t do that to you. I tell you what, next time? We’re watching Harry Potter. There’s enough characters in that that you can cast all of SHIELD and still have people left over.’


	5. Harry Potter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post this tonight, but since the last chapter leads kind of perfectly into this...

‘So,’ Jane said, adjusting her sunglasses. ‘Steve equals Harry Potter? Discuss.’

‘Nah,’ Darcy said, smoothing on another layer of sunscreen. They were sprawled out on the roof of Stark Tower, technically setting up the thingamajiggy for tonight’s experiment, but since that was done, and the experiment couldn’t actually be done until dark, they were enjoying the sunshine instead. ‘Steve is Neville Longbottom. You know, unfortunate childhood, kind of sad and useless with one talent - herbology, art, until bam, late puberty and/or super serum turns him into a badass motherfucker, or, as the kids say, BAMF, who’s still kind of geeky and weird, yet universally beloved.’

‘Yeah, I can see that,’ Jane said.

‘Thor is totally Ron. There’s the loyalty and the unexpected smarts, and the brother issues. That kind of makes you Hermione, which makes sense with the know-it-all-ness. But Tony is also Hermione with the bossiness and the gadgetry. Do you think Tony could make me a bottomless bag?’

‘No. And no, Tony is Harry, what with the reckless disregard for rules and authority. And the daddy issues. And the mommy issues.’

Darcy considered it. ‘Please, never, ever tell him you decided he was the Harry.’

‘OH - and the redhead thing, because Pepper is totally Ginny.’

‘You’re right.’ Darcy sighed and stretched her arms out, then started rolling up her leggings to expose her calves to the sun. ‘Smart, kind of naughty, knows what she wants, and the only one with the balls to tell Harry when he’s being a dick.’

‘Right,’ Jane said. ‘And Bruce is Lupin, obviously.

‘Let’s not tell Hulk you compared him to a werewolf.’

‘What?’ Jane looked surprised. ‘Wow, I didn’t even think of that. I was mostly thinking of rumpled, careworn professor type who’s kind of hot but doesn’t realize it.’

Darcy shrugged. ‘Well, yes. That goes without saying.’

‘Mmm.’ Jane got up and padded over to the bar fridge. ‘Want a drink?’

‘You know, I am actually at work,’ Darcy said.

‘I’m your boss,’ Jane said.

‘Right. Hit me.’

‘So, Clint,’ Jane said, dropping a bottle of beer on Darcy’s stomach. ‘He’s basically the twins, right? Funny, snarky, hot - and just outside the action. You don’t realise how important he is until he’s not there?’

‘Good call,’ Darcy said, opening her beer and taking a long drink. ‘I was kind of thinking Natasha is Tonks, but other than the constant appearance changes, I can’t really see it.’

‘No, no. You’re clearly Tonks. Natasha is Professor McGonagall. Kickass competent, keeps the rest of the team in line, knows everything that’s happening everywhere...’

‘Perfect,’ Darcy laughed. ‘I really can’t see Fury as Dumbledore, though. Coulson, maybe. Coulson has that ‘I know more than you and I will only talk in riddles so as to keep you confused’ sort of thing that Dumbledore has.’

‘Yes, that works,’ Jane said excitedly, sitting up. ‘Because if Natasha is McGonagall, then she was the one to kick Snape out of Hogwarts, and Snape killed Dumbledore, AKA stabbed but not killed Coulson, and of course...’

‘Loki is Snape!’ They both burst into giggles and drained their beer.

‘Now,’ Jane continued a moment later, ‘Steve is totally Frodo.’


	6. Charity Begins At Home, But Sometimes Stretches Across The World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, a while ago, i started writing a series that would throw each Avenger (and Phil) against one of the seven deadly sins. I got one paragraph into Natasha’s story (wrath) and got stuck. Couldn’t come up with ideas for the rest, although I’d assigned all the sins. The only one I was really interested in, though, was Thor and gluttony. I never managed to finish it, though, until today, when I was reading over all my unfinished notes, and found this, and worked out how to end it. It got away from the original idea a little, but I love it.

One day, Tony is flying with a Stark Industries plane to Africa to deliver food and supplies to refugee camps. Thor asks to come along. Tony shrugs, says sure, he could use the backup, there are a lot of people out there who would like to steal the supplies for the guerilla fighters. 

When they arrive, Thor is horrified by the poverty and the hunger. He comes back to New York and can’t bring himself to eat. 

Tony explains by saying they’re keeping poor people in New York in business. Not helpful. Steve and Clint both grew up in near poverty, Bruce spent years on the run in the poorest parts of the world, and Natasha grew up in the Red Room. They dislike it too, but not everything can be fixed with a shield or a hammer. 

They all try to explain that idealism is a nice thought, but very impractical in the real world. Thor is not placated, and can’t understand why the Midgardian leaders would allow their people to suffer so. Pepper finds him on the couch that night, asking JARVIS to show him news and documentaries from the poorer parts of the world. 

‘It’s difficult to see,’ Pepper says gently, sitting down next to him.

‘I do not understand,’ Thor says. ‘Why is there such disparity of wealth across Midgard? Why do we live in this luxury while others do not? Steven and Clinton tell me they too experienced a lack of wealth and food as children. The All-Father would not allow his subjects to suffer so.’

‘We try,’ Pepper says. ‘There are always people who try. And there are many problems, Thor, not only hunger. Tony donates as much time and money as he can to the organizations that provide food and necessities to these countries. Bruce works in medical clinics, helping those who cannot afford medical care. Natasha teaches young girls to defend themselves against men who would attack them violently. Steve works with disadvantaged young boys who might otherwise grow up to be violent men. And Clint is an animal rescue worker - he helps place abused animals in caring homes.’

‘I did not know,’ Thor says, switching off the television. 

Pepper rests her hand on his. ‘We do what we can, Thor. Sometimes it feels like it’s not much, or not enough, but to the person we’re helping, it makes all the difference in the world.’

‘What do you do?’ Thor asks. Pepper smiles and taps her laptop.

‘Me? I organize, Thor. I set things up so people can help. I research where help is needed, then I send Tony out. I found a clinic that needed a doctor, so I sent Bruce there. I organize events to convince other people to donate time and money.’

‘Yes,’ Thor says. ‘You are very efficient in this manner. But I feel there is more.’

Pepper smiles again, opens her laptop. ‘I work with a company that grants wishes to sick children, Thor,’ she says. ‘Children who are very ill - children who may not live much longer. We try to make their lives as bright and as joyful as possible for as long as we can.’

‘I see,’ Thor says. ‘That is a noble cause.’

‘I think so,’ Pepper agrees.

‘I wish to help,’ Thor says. ‘Where would you have my aid?’

The next week, Tony introduces a guard on the SI humanitarian flights to Asia, leaving Thor to take over guard duty on the African routes. Thor goes to the clinic with Bruce and entertains children while Bruce inoculates them. He takes part in a wish-granting with Pepper and they take a young boy and his family to Disney World.

He goes to class with Natasha and lets a group of teenage girls beat him up in the name of training. He plays baseball with Steve’s boys, tells them stories of Sif and the Warriors Three. And when he goes to the animal shelter with Clint, he brings home a beautiful golden retriever who was traumatized by a previous owner, and slowly nurses her back to health and happiness.


	7. Eleven Arrows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this just after the Saturday Night Live parody with Jeremy Renner.

‘HAWKEYE!’ Cap’s voice was loud in his earpiece, but the giant flying lizards they were currently fighting also made a horrible screeching sound, so Clint had to strain to listen.  

‘WHAT?’ he shouted back, throwing a punch at a lizard streaking past him on the roof.  

‘SHOOT THEM!’ Cap was on the ground, dealing with the lunatic who’d created the lizards. Thor, Hulk and Iron Man were flying around, electrocuting, smashing and blasting, but Natasha’d had the luck to be on assignment in Zagreb, so she was missing all the fun.

  ‘I CAN’T,’ he smacked one lizard on the nose. It yelped and fell out of the sky. Apparently they could fly, but not very well. ‘BEHIND YOU, IRON MAN!’

  ‘THANKS!’ Iron Man said, shooting a jet of fire from his boots and incinerating a bunch of lizards. ‘THIS WOULD BE EASIER IF YOU WOULD SHOOT THEM, KATNISS.’

  ‘I CAN’T,’ Clint repeated. ‘I’M OUT OF ARROWS, DUMBASS.’  

‘HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?’ Cap said, grunting as he deflected a ray of something with his shield. ‘HOW MANY DID YOU BRING?’

  ‘ELEVEN,’ Clint said.

  ‘ARE YOU KIDDING? THAT IS NOT FUNNY.’

  ‘BLAME STARK! HE STOLE THEM ALL TO UPGRADE THEM.’

  ‘HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WE’D BE ATTACKED BY SCREECHING FLYING LIZARDS? HIT THEM WITH YOUR BOW, LEGOLAS!’

  ‘I’M NOT WRECKING MY BOW BECAUSE YOU FORGOT TO LEAVE ME AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF ARROWS!’

  ‘JUST PUNCH THEM, HAWKEYE!’

  ‘I AM!’ Clint punched another lizard and sent it tumbling to ground for good measure. It landed next to the tiny red, white and blue figure, who stopped and stared up at the sky, hands on hips.

  ‘I’M RIGHT HERE. DO NOT DROP LIZARDS ON ME. WE WILL DISCUSS THIS LATER. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN BOTH OF YOU.’ Even when fighting, Cap still managed to sound like a weary kindergarten teacher.


	8. Budapest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look, it's the first Avengers fic I ever wrote!

During schwarma, Clint rests his feet on her chair, boots digging into her hip, and it's nothing at all like Budapest. Steve passes out napkins, and Tony orders for them all. He tries to pay, too, but the man behind the counter just shakes his head. Tony slips a takeout menu into his pocket, and Natasha has a feeling that this will be the busiest restaurant in New York over the coming days.

Thor eats Steve's food when the Captain falls asleep, and Bruce and Tony quietly babble in science speak to each other. Clint dips a napkin in his glass of water and cleans the blood off Natasha's eyebrow, and it's nothing like Budapest.

'So, ah, what happens now? Do we, uh, debrief, or do we just leave, or... Cause I think we need to put Steve to bed before he falls off his chair.' Bruce looks at Natasha and Clint as if they have answers to these questions, and Natasha is stunned to realize that she does actually have the most experience working as a team. Clint looks at her too, and she frowns at him, so he shrugs back.

'That was just a whole conversation you two had, wasn't it?' asks Tony. 'You seriously just had a whole conversation with one eyebrow and one shoulder.'

'Of course not,' Natasha says, because they did, and she was elected leader. 'To answer your question, Doctor Banner, we will need to have a conversation with Director Fury once he arrives in the city, and then -'

'I'm here,' Fury says from the doorway. Clint takes his feet off Natasha's chair and moves his a little closer to give the director room to sit. When he tries to put his feet back up over her thighs, she frowns again and he grins, slipping an arm over the back of her chair instead. No, this is not like Budapest at all.

'Where is Loki?' the director asks. The group, except the still sleeping Captain America, all point to the wall near Thor's feet, where the unconscious god of mischief lies. 'Hmm,' Fury mutters. 'Who did that?'

The group look back at him with varying degrees of innocence and feigned ignorance. Natasha flexes her grazed knuckles and allows herself a half-smile.

‘Well, then,’ Fury says, looking back at Bruce. ‘The Helicarrier has landed safely and we are currently making repairs. You are all invited back on board while we manage this situation. Agent Hill is currently overseeing the dismantling of Loki’s device with Dr Selvig. Once that is complete, we will move it - and Loki - to separate, secure locations - ‘

‘No,’ states Thor. ‘I will return both Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard. He shall face my father’s justice for the atrocities he has committed here.’

Fury nods at him. ‘That is acceptable.’ Natasha knows he never had any intention of keeping them here. ‘The offer still stands. The Tesseract will not be ready for transport until tomorrow. I have organised rooms, medical staff, anything you need, on the Helicarrier. I have a jet on standby.’

‘What?’ Tony says, sitting up straight. ‘No. No, we’re not doing that. Tiny rooms on a ship where the government has full control over us? No. I’ll take care of us, Nick. You just have Selvig call me when the Tesseract is ready.’

Fury stares blankly at Tony. Natasha can almost imagine the grin he is holding back. ‘Fine,’ he says. ‘Your car is outside,’ he says to Clint. ‘I have had Dr Banner’s and the Captain’s things packed and placed inside. Agent Romanov’s and your own bags, also. You have two weeks, barring another apocalypse.’ His tone changes, softens somewhat, although Natasha knows she and Clint are probably the only ones to hear it. ‘Get some rest.’

Just before he reaches the door, he turns back. ‘I expect I won’t see you for some time. I thank you all for your service and dedication to this country and this world.’ It’s not much, but somehow it’s enough, and Clint’s hand squeezes her shoulder, and Bruce straightens slightly, and Steve wakes up. 

‘Where’s my food?’ he asks blearily as Tony laughs and Fury slips out the door. Thor grins and pushes an empty plate back towards Steve.

‘Never mind that, Cap, we’re going home,’ Tony says. ‘You can order whatever damn food you want, everyone delivers to me.’

Budapest was loud and messy and there was only Clint, still unsure if he’d made the right decision and keeping a wary eye on her at all times. Budapest was a feral cat, hissing and scratching at anyone who got too close, wild eyes looking for a way out. 

She settles into the backseat of Clint’s car. Tony calls shotgun, explains he needs to give directions. Clint grins, tries to explain about GPS. Tony grins back. ‘I am my own GPS, Barton.’

Thor flies overhead, carrying the now awake Loki. Natasha is prepared to knock him out again, if necessary, but it’s probably nicer to let someone else have the pleasure this time.

On one side of her, Steve shakes some glass out of his hair. It lands on her leg, and he brushes it off, apologising. He freezes when he realises where his hand is. She pats his hand and gently places it back on his own leg. On her other side, Bruce holds himself stiff and aloof. Natasha tips her head back against her headrest and her hair drops onto his shoulder. Bruce relaxes and pushes into her side slightly, inviting her to rest against him.

Natasha is almost asleep, safe in the middle of her team, and this is nothing like Budapest at all.


	9. Deep Dusty Blue

Darcy collects things. 

Steve sees this the first time he visits her apartment. Books, DVDs, little plastic figures she calls Lego. She has a shelf full of nail polish bottles, all colours, red and green and pink and purple. But predominantly a deep, dusty blue. 

He doesn’t ask why until a few weeks later. It’s after a mission, he’s tired and sore and sitting on the floor, leaning up against the couch where Darcy sits as she runs her hands over his neck and shoulders and threads her fingers through his hair. It’s quiet and relaxing, and there’s a movie on, but he’s not really watching and he asks ‘Why do you have so much blue nail polish?’ 

She moves her hand to rest against his chest. He looks down and her nails are shiny and glossy. ‘Trying to find the perfect match,’ she said, tapping them against the dusty deep blue of his uniform.


	10. Dancing

‘JARVIS! Music!’ Tony shouted, whirling Pepper onto the floor. ‘Of course, sir,’ JARVIS replied, starting an upbeat song with a bit of a swing beat. Steve didn’t recognize it, although that was obviously not uncommon.

‘Come on,’ Darcy flipped her hair at Clint. ‘You got any moves, archer boy?’

‘Lewis, I got moves you ain’t even dreamed of,’ he replied. She laughed and skipped out to the floor. Jane and Thor were already out there, and Bruce was pouring himself another drink at the bar while he watched.

‘Not dancing, Cap?’ Natasha asked, sliding into the seat next to Steve. 

‘Oh, no, ma’am, I don’t dance,’ he replied.

‘We’ve discussed this, Cap, it’s Natasha, not ma’am. And everybody dances. Banner! You dance, right?’

‘Sure thing, Natasha,’ Bruce said, pulling her to her feet and twirling her once before letting go and sitting down.

‘See, Cap, even Bruce dances. Sort of.’

‘I never learned,’ he said. ‘I was going to, but, you know, ice.’

‘Well, dancing’s easy,’ Natasha smiled, a low, devious, sexy smile that Steve knew he had no defense against. ‘All you gotta do move.’

Steve stood and extended a hand. ‘Would you please teach me to dance, Natasha?’

She took his hand and led him to the dance floor. ‘JARVIS? Something slow, please?’

The music changed and Natasha placed Steve’s hand on her waist. ‘Just there, and your other hand here, now just - follow me.’

Steve kept his eyes firmly on the top of Natasha’s head. ‘I’m dancing!’

‘You are, indeed,’ she replied, pulling him in a little closer.


	11. Clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on [this gif and prompt](http://fade-like-starlight.tumblr.com/post/44532657370/merideathislost-fade-like-starlight-the) from merideath.

‘Ugh,’ Darcy said. ‘Seriously, do you ever wear clothes?’

‘I tried once,’ Johnny said. ‘Women just kept ripping them off me. This seems quicker.’ He flicked the tea towel at her and Darcy made a half hearted effort to cover her eyes.

‘Ugh,’ she said again. ‘We have to eat in here.’

He shrugged and tossed her an apple. ‘Go ahead,’ he said. ‘I’m not stopping you.’

‘Look, who knows how long we’re going to have to stay here. Hopefully the bad guys show themselves tonight, you can do your little match girl impression, and we can all go home. But until that happens, new rules: Clothes are always to be worn in the kitchen.’ She picked up a pair of his jeans lying over the back of a chair and threw them at him.

‘Fair call,’ Johnny said. He dropped the jeans back on the chair and left the room.

‘CLOTHES,’ Darcy called after him.

‘New rule!’ he called back. ‘No clothes allowed in the living room!’

Darcy grinned. ‘Well, okay then,’ she said, unbuttoning her shirt.


	12. Merchandise

Pepper keeps a pretty tight lid on Avengers merchandise, despite Tony. SHIELD turned over responsibility for marketing pretty quickly after Tony threatened lawyers. Fury was glad, actually - SHIELD doesn’t have time to track down every unauthorised Hulk plushie out there, and frankly, Fury couldn’t care less. So Pepper has her team authorise toys and keychains and tshirts, and all profits go through to a number of charities. When Natasha approaches her with an idea, Pepper is intrigued. She’s used to Tony’s insane ideas, and Steve’s mentioned comic books and cartoons, but she didn’t expect nail polish from Natasha. ‘If Spiderman can do it, why can’t we?’ she reasons, and Pepper thinks there’s something else there, but she doesn’t question it. She simply assigns the team to each pick a colour and a name.

Big mistake. Thor quickly finds a silver that gives a rainbow glow and calls it ‘Bifrost.’ 

Bruce reluctantly agrees to call a bright green ‘Smash’. Tony, Natasha and Steve get into a shouting match over red, each believing they have a good claim. Clint was going to choose purple, but he decides arguing is more fun, so he throws his hat in the ring for red, too.

Finally, Pepper tells them she’ll expand the collection to add ‘Avenger Red’, and they all have to choose a different colour.

Tony chooses Titanium Gold, Steve chooses a deep blue and calls it ‘Soldier’, and Clint calls his purple ‘On The Edge’.

Natasha surprises them all and chooses the palest pink, packed full of pink and silver glitter. She calls it ‘Ballerinas Kick Butt’, and tells Pepper it’s for all the little girls who think they aren’t tough enough to be a superhero.

When the collection comes out, the team is surprised to see an eighth polish. It’s a matte black crackle polish. Pepper tells them she called it ‘Secret Agent Man’ and picked it because it works so well with all the other colours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my inspirations:   
> Thor: China Glaze OMG (or any other silver holographic - personally, I like Nfu Oh #61.)  
> Bruce: Kleancolor Metallic Green. It is insanely awesome, and my go-to summer pedicure colour.  
> Tony: I like Face Of Australia’s Molten Metallic Gold, but it’s probably hard to find outside Australia. It’s a basic metallic finish gold. OPI's Goldeneye would probably also work, and has the bonus of being from the James Bond collection.  
> Steve: Essence’s The Boy Next Door (which probably works as a name in Avengers-land, too.) Deep dusty blue.  
> Clint: Zoya’s Yasmeen is a purple with subtle gold shimmer  
> Natasha: OPI’s Princesses Rule! which was actually the inspiration for this fic.  
> Avengers Red: Depending on the finish you want, for creme: China Glaze Hey Sailor. For glitter, China Glaze Ruby Pumps.  
> Coulson: Any black shatter/crackle you like. I use China Glaze Black Mesh.


	13. Bad Day

‘Darcy?’ Steve called, letting himself into her apartment. ‘Are you home? I saw the news. Rough day?’ He hung his jacket on the hook behind the door and headed down the hallway to the kitchen, where he could hear the definite sounds of Darcy cooking. Adele on the stereo, the oven timer ticking away and there - the buzz of her mixer whipping cream or frosting.

Just before he walked in, though, the photos on the wall caught his eye. He frowned. ‘That’s not right,’ he murmured. ‘Hey, Darce, did you change the pictures around?’ he said as he pushed the door open.

‘Yes,’ she said shortly. ‘Now they’re in date order.’ She had a smudge of flour on her cheek and Steve brushed it off as he kissed the other one. 

‘Rough day?’ he repeated, opening the cupboard.

‘No,’ she said. ‘A rough day would have been great. A rough day would have been fantastic. What I had was a horrible day. A horrendous day. The worst day to ever exist.’

‘I saw the press conference,’ he said, still looking in the cupboard. ‘Where are the cookies?’

‘Next shelf down,’ she said. ‘The press conference wasn’t even the worst of it. We had to spend all day going through that idiot VP’s records, trying to find exactly where it was his team managed to lose half a billion dollars.’

‘Weren’t they on the top shelf yesterday? And did you find the money?’

‘It makes more sense to have them on this shelf. And no, but we think we found where it might be. Hopefully it’s just a paperwork thing and Accounts can sort it out. Worst case, we voluntarily call in the tax auditors to sort it out. Which would suck just as badly, so here’s hoping we find it.’

A couple of days later, Steve was going through Darcy’s books, trying to find one he’d read a while ago. Darcy had promised to let Natasha borrow it, and Steve was going to take it with him to SHIELD. That is, if he could find it.

‘Hey, Darce!’ he called. ‘Where is that book for Tasha? I thought it was on the shelf with your non-magic sci-fi books?’

‘I changed the books around last week,’ she called back from the bedroom. ‘After my mother called and I needed a distraction. Now it’s on the shelf in the kitchen with the fiction authors I to M.’

He sighed and headed to the kitchen. ‘Got it,’ he called.

A few weeks after that, Steve was tired and sore and hungry as he opened her door. ‘Darcy?’ he called. ‘I’m back.’ He dropped his bag in the hallway, too tired even to bring it to the lounge room, let alone bedroom. ‘Darcy?’ he called again, but there was no answer. Not home, then. He made a right hand turn into the lounge, and pulled up short. 

Her green couch was no longer there. Instead, a blue couch sat against the window, on a different angle than he was used to. Her big, battered coffee table was gone, too. Steve backed out into the hall. He peeked into the kitchen. It looked the same - no, wait. The kitchen table was against the wall, not in the centre, and the bench was empty. He went in and opened a cupboard, hoping to see glassware. 

Nope. Plates and bowls.

He opened all the cupboards one after another, but nothing was where he expected it to be.

He took a deep breath. This was not a reason to panic. In Darcy’s bedroom, the bed was thankfully the same. He opened a drawer, the one where he usually kept his things, to find a stack of Darcy’s favourite sleep shirts.

‘What the hell…’ he muttered to himself, grabbing her laptop and opening it. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. The date was what he’d expected, day and month and year.

‘You’re back,’ Darcy said flatly from the doorway.

He closed her laptop and stood up. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘It was a success, we won in the end.’

‘Great.’ She turned back into the living room. He followed. 

‘What’s going -’

‘Why the hell didn’t you call me?’ she burst out, poking him in the chest.

‘What? How could I, we were in the middle of the  _jungle_ ,’ he said, throwing his hands up. ‘No cell coverage.’

‘Oh, don’t give me that. You were with Tony Stark, don’t tell me he couldn’t spend a spare five seconds throwing a cell phone tower together.’

‘No, he couldn’t, actually, because we were busy trying to  _save the world_ , if you’ll remember.’

‘Yeah? How’s that world gonna look to you without a girlfriend?’

‘Well, for one, I might actually be able to find something around here!’

‘This is my  _house_!’

‘And every time I walk in here, it’s different!’

‘Well, if you would  _call me_ , then maybe I wouldn’t spend every night terrified that you weren’t coming back!’

‘I’m sorry,’ Steve said, calming down immediately. ‘Is that true?’

‘Yes,’ Darcy said, hands still on hips, but no longer yelling. ‘I didn’t hear a word from you in five days, Steve, what did you expect? Pepper didn’t hear from Tony, either, we were so worried. She spent all her spare time at the gym, running miles on the treadmill then falling asleep at her desk. I’d come home and it was so quiet, so empty. So I rearranged a few things.’

‘You bought a new couch!’

‘No, just the cover,’ she said. ‘And I changed the furniture, and I cleaned out my clothes, and my makeup, and my CDs, and the pantry, and the fridge.’

‘It didn’t look like your place,’ Steve said. Darcy’s eyes widened. 

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry - did you think -’

‘Just for a second,’ he said. ‘But I checked the date, so I knew it was okay.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said again. ‘I’m used to it being just me, it doesn’t matter if I rearrange all my things all the time. I didn’t realize.’

‘What, that I’d panic every time something little changed?’

‘It’s not something little,’ Darcy said. ‘It’s the whole apartment. You’re practically living here at least half of the time, I should have thought about it.’

‘And I probably should have let you know I was alive and okay,’ Steve said. ‘How about this? I’ll get Tony to work on a communicator that doesn’t require cell coverage?’

Darcy smiled. ‘And I’ll give you fair warning if I’m having a bad day and need to take it out on the furniture.’

‘Deal,’ Steve said. ‘Now, I’m going to have a shower, then take my girl out for dinner. Wanna join me?’

‘For the shower or for dinner?’

‘How about both?’

The very next morning, Steve woke to an empty room. ‘Darcy?’ he said, already sensing she was gone. He rolled over to find a note taped to a coffee mug.

_Steve. Please consider this your fair warning. Pepper called, we have to deal with the tax_ ~~ _idiots_ ~~ _auditors today. It’s going to be a bad day, and I haven’t sorted out the DVDs for a while. What’s your preference - alphabetical, or genre?_

_love Darcy xx_


	14. Reality TV

It’s no secret that Coulson likes Supernanny. It’s all about creating order out of chaos and smart people telling stupid people what to do. He likes Kitchen Nightmares for the same reason.

Natasha likes Project Runway. Creative people making something out of nothing. She prefers the episodes where the designers have to use unusual materials, and she generally finds herself agreeing with Heidi during judging.  


Clint likes Top Chef, in principle. He gets annoyed when he remembers he doesn’t get to taste the food at the end.  


Bruce doesn’t watch a lot of television, but one day Tony is absently watching Mythbusters, and Bruce can’t help getting involved. The next day, he finds a Blu-ray set on his bedside table.  


Thor is fascinated with Big Brother. He understands the concept of television quite well - movies, and scripted tv shows are just Midgardian versions of the plays performed in Asgard. One day, he watches Kitchen Nightmares with Coulson, and besides adding some impressive words to his battle vocabulary, he comes away with an understanding of reality tv. Or so he thinks. It still takes Jane a few tries to explain the point of Big Brother, but eventually, Thor likes watching Midgardians not doing very much of anything.  


Tony, to nobody’s surprise, watches The Apprentice, but not because he likes it. He really only watches it to throw things at Trump.  


Steve likes Top Gear. He’s vaguely aware that it’s a bit of a cliche, with his growing motorcycle collection downstairs and vintage cars on the television, but shut up, Tony.   


One evening, he’s laying on the couch with a bottle of beer, randomly flicking through channels. Darcy wanders in - on her way home after work, presumably - and perches on the arm of the couch.   


‘What’cha watching, Captain Adorable?’ she chirps, second only to Tony for annoying nicknames.   


‘Not much on,’ he says. She leans over and steals his bottle, taking a large gulp as she kicks her shoes off.   


‘Would you like a drink, Darcy?’ he says drily.   


‘No, thanks,’ she says, ‘I’ve got one. Might want to get yourself one, though, you look a little thirsty.’  


He rolls his eyes happily and goes out to the kitchen for another bottle, and decides to throw a bag of popcorn in the microwave while he’s there. Mostly because he knows Darcy will tease him about his appetite, and he’s found he likes having Darcy tease him.  


Steve heads back to the lounge room to find Darcy laying on the couch in the exact same position he was just in. Her shoes are under the table, jacket thrown over the back of the couch and shirt unbuttoned to show the white cotton camisole underneath.  


‘It’s about time,’ she says, ‘I’ve been busting my ass at work all day, and you can’t even manage dinner on the table when I get home?’  


‘You’re not at home,’ he says, lifting her feet up, and sitting down, settling her feet onto his lap and putting the bowl of popcorn on her stomach. ‘This is my home, and your workplace, and what on earth are we watching?’  


‘Dancing with the Stars,’ she says. ‘Heard a rumour they want a certain superhero on next season.’  


‘I am not doing that,’ he says, popping the top of his beer and groaning as Darcy steals it too, her empty bottle on the floor beside her. He gets up and brings two bottles back.  


‘The boy’s a quick learner,’ she says, lifting her feet so he can slide back under them. ‘And not you. Tony.’  


‘Tony?’  


She tips her head towards the tv. ‘You didn’t hear it from me, but I might have answered an email from the producers today.’  


Steve considers asking if Tony knows, but her sly little grin answers that for him.  


‘Well, what do you know,’ Steve says slowly, watching the twirling couple on screen. ‘I just might have a new favourite show.’


	15. Stalking

In the weeks after the battle, Steve spends most of his mornings alone in the gym at Stark Tower, and his afternoons wandering the city with Clint or Natasha, or both. Thor is gone, back to Asgard. Tony spends most of his time with Pepper, working on the renovations for Stark Tower, or with Bruce, doing science things. Bruce occasionally joins Steve on his explorations, but he’s always happiest when he’s arguing with Tony in the lab.

Natasha helps Steve buy an iPod, and a computer, and shows him how to use them. Clint takes charge of the music and slowly brings Steve into the 21st century, lecturing on everything from ‘60s swing to ‘90s grunge. Steve goes back to Brooklyn, walks around his old neighbourhood and tells tales from his past, Bucky and Howard and his men. Natasha and Clint share similar stories, and Steve somehow understands he is helping them heal, just as they do the same for him.

Natasha takes him to restaurants tucked away on tiny side streets, ones he’d never have found himself, and they eat their way through the cultural melting pot that is New York.

Clint takes him to Central Park, and they climb the trees, lay in the tallest branches and watch the world pass by below.

He buys a motorbike, an upgrade from the bike Bruce gave him after the battle (although he keeps that, too, Tony gives him an entire floor of the garage and says ‘start a collection, Cap,’) and rides upstate with Natasha, both of them reveling in the wide, green spaces, so different from either of their childhoods.

He’s sitting by the fountain in Central Park with Clint, enjoying the sunshine, when Clint says ‘Bet you can’t follow that guy for a minute without getting caught.’

Steve follows Clint’s gaze. He’s just a man, an office worker in shirtsleeves and sunglasses.

‘Why?’

Clint shrugs. ‘I’m bored, and it can’t hurt to teach you a few tracking and surveillance skills.’

‘I hunted HYDRA agents.’

‘Not in a city. Not in 2012, where every citizen is equipped with cameras and GPS and they’re told from birth to be suspicious of strangers.’

‘You’re on,’ Steve says, and gets up. He’s nearly caught up to the man when he stops and turns around. ‘Can I help you, buddy?’ he says.

‘No - no, sorry,’ Steve says, pulling out his phone and pushing a few buttons. He’s noticed that people do that a lot. The man shakes his head and continues on his way.

Steve wanders back to Clint, who is laughing his ass off.

‘Well, you do it,’ Steve says peevishly. 

‘Sure thing, Cap,’ Clint says, picking out a mark. ‘That girl - the brunette with the backpack.’ She seems to be a traveller, water bottles and maps tucked into the side of her bag. Clint gets up and follows her until he’s nearly out of Steve’s view. The girl never turns around.

Clint jogs back, grins at Steve. ‘Easy. The trick is not to get too close. Your turn.’ He spins slowly, finds what he’s looking for. ‘The blonde. In the waitress uniform.’

Steve gets up and looks over. ‘I know her,’ he says.

‘Even better,’ Clint replies. ‘Follow her to work.’

Steve has no idea where he is when he realizes she’s not going to work. She’s apparently on her way home, and stops at a small market for milk and bread when she turns and sees Steve. 

‘Oh,’ she says, smiling. ‘Don’t I know you?’

‘Um,’ Steve says, flustered at being caught. 

‘I know,’ she says, ‘you come into the cafe all the time. White with one sugar and a toasted...’ she trails off, eyes getting wider.

Steve looks desperately for an exit - he doesn’t mind crowds and photographers when he’s in uniform, but he’s not and Tony’s not around to take the brunt of it. The girl steps in closer.

‘Your secret’s safe,’ she says quietly. ‘I’m not going to tell anyone. But, thank you.’ She squeezes his arm and turns to leave.

‘Wait,’ Steve calls out. She turns back, eyes questioning. ‘Would you like to have dinner with me?’

She smiles, big and golden and pretty, and says ‘I’m Beth.’

‘Steve,’ he replies, extending a hand. She shakes it, and says yes, she would love to have dinner with him. She takes his phone and types quickly. 

‘Call me,’ she says, and turns to leave, again.

‘Wait!’ Steve says, again, and she turns back, still smiling. ‘Can you, uh, can you tell me how to get back to Stark Tower? I’m a little lost.’

He makes it back home, wondering what the rules are for how soon he can call Beth. Clint and Natasha are both in the lounge room, watching a movie on television. Steve comes in and sits with them.

‘That took a while,’ Clint says. ‘You get lost?’

‘No, she was on her way home, not back here,’ Steve said. He explains for Natasha, ‘Clint is teaching me surveillance. I followed the waitress from the cafe downstairs home.’

She doesn’t react quite how he expects. She punches Clint.

‘Ow!’ he protests.

‘You’re teaching Captain America how to stalk women?’

Clint grins. Natasha hits him again. ‘Don’t do that. It’s creepy. And you,’ she says, turning to Steve. ‘Don’t follow women home, you’re lucky she didn’t mistake you for something much worse. You want spying lessons, you come to me, not this idiot.’

‘Yes, mom,’ Steve says under his breath. Clint taught him that, too. Natasha glares at both of them and turns back to the television. Clint makes the phone symbol with his right hand and raises his eyebrow at Steve. _Did you get her number?_ Steve grins back and Clint gives him a thumbs up.


End file.
